Newcomer's Handbook For Moving To And Living In Los Angeles: Including Santa Monica, Pasadena, Orange County, And The San Fernando Valley

by Joan Wai

Moving to Los Angeles has never been easier! Expanded to include Orange County, the fourth edition of the Newcomer’s Handbook® for Moving to and Living in Los Angeles extensively covers communities from Santa Clarita to Newport Beach, from Malibu to Pasadena, and neighborhoods and cities in-between. The fourth edition also presents essential sections on Finding a Place to Live, Moving and Storage, Money Matters, Getting Settled, Helpful Services, Childcare and Education, Shopping for the Home, Cultural Life, Sports and Recreation, Greenspace and Beaches, Places of Worship, Volunteering, Transportation, Emergency Preparedness, Temporary Lodgings, and Quick Getaways. In addition, a handy calendar of LA events, a listing of LA-related guidebooks, fiction, and nonfiction, and a directory of useful phone numbers and web sites round out this indispensable book. A set of six maps—an LA overview, plus five area maps—guide the reader to communities, freeways, and points of interest. In addition to being thoroughly fact-checked, updated, and revised, the fourth edition includes such new material • Orange County communities, focusing on Newport Beach, Irvine, and Tustin • An Immigrant Newcomers section • A Literary Life section • A thorough discussion of intrastate and interstate moves and consumer complaints

334 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2005

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will refer to this for a little while. It is useful and has good information about neighborhoods (though nothing too in depth), shopping, activities, and other basics (it did successfully tell me about required levels of car insurance), but it doesn't get too far into detail on any subject. It was a good base, but because Los Angeles is so big can't possibly go into the detail I want. Also, a lot of the information was so basic as to be true for a move anywhere, not just Los Angeles.

Overall, useful in feeling like I know something and getting names of neighborhoods down, but recognize that it is a base.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are absolutely wonderful. I love the descriptions of the neighborhoods and the volunteering chapters in them. I would also recommend the Chicago one if you ever move there. I used that one extensively too.

[J.R. Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for anyone moving to California.